- One of Nigeria’s main opposition parties, the PDP, has screened Goodluck Jonathan as the sole presidential candidate for the 2027 elections
- A 14-member committee has been set up, which includes notable figures like Namadi Sambo and Jonah Jang
- Jonathan, who served as president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015, has reportedly recently registered as a member of the PDP
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over nine years of experience covering politics, elections, and governance in Nigeria and Africa.
FCT, Abuja – Ahead of the 2027 elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Tanimu Turaki (SAN), has scheduled the screening of former President Goodluck Jonathan for tomorrow, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, as the party’s sole presidential candidate.
As reported on Monday, May 18, by This Day, former Vice President Namadi Sambo, former Governor of Plateau state Jonah Jang, and ex-minister of foreign affairs Tom Ikimi are among the 14-member screening committee constituted to assess Jonathan.
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Arise News also noted the purported development.
Other members of the committee were Olabode George, Babangida Aliyu, Maryam Ciroma, Zainab Maina, Josephine Anenin, Abdul Bulama, Esther Uduehi, Edo state PDP chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, Sunday Solarium and Chief Anicho Okoro, who would serve as the administrative secretary of the committee.
Jonathan reportedly emerges PDP’s sole aspirant
Although the party statement referred only to a “lone presidential aspirant,” it was gathered from inquiries that the candidate in question is Jonathan.
Recently, Ini Ememobong, the party’s national spokesperson of the faction, disclosed that Jonathan had successfully registered as a member of the PDP during a fresh digital registration exercise directed by the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (INEC).
Jonathan’s rise from humble beginnings
Jonathan is the son of a canoe carver and a soft-spoken academic often seen wearing a fedora.
When he was elected president in April 2011, he was widely described as “Nigeria’s Barack Obama,” a leader expected to bring change to the oil-rich but struggling nation.
A Christian from southern Nigeria, GEJ, as the 68-year-old is commonly known, leveraged his humble beginnings as political capital during his 2011 elections campaign.
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Jonathan’s meteoric rise, from lowly civil servant to president of Africa’s most populous nation, seemed to trade on fortune. His political career began when he was elected deputy governor of Bayelsa, a small state in Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta region, and then quickly became governor when his predecessor was impeached on corruption charges.
From there, he rose to national office, handpicked by PDP’s leaders to be vice president, then succeeded President Umaru Yar’Adua after the incumbent died in office. Just over a year later, he was elected in his own right.
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Kenneth Okonkwo warns Jonathan
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Kenneth Okonkwo, a former chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), advised the PDP to allow Jonathan to enjoy his ‘retirement from public office’ in peace, rather than luring him into the 2027 race.
Okonkwo explained that rather than luring Jonathan into the 2027 elections race, the cheerleaders should allow the former Nigerian leader to enjoy his credibility.
The former LP chieftain asked Jonathan to maintain his status as an “international statesman.”
Source: Legit.ng